A very early blog post exploring the origin of my business name and the etymology behind it. Another in a series of archived posts which are fun to keep around for reflection, sorta like coming across an old book report of yours that your mom had saved from when you were in middle school.
iArtisan
What exactly does it mean..?
The idea behind the name comes from the concept of applying a skilled trade, or trades, to create something magnificent. As opposed to simply an artistic approach, I like to view website creation as not only developing something aesthetically pleasing, but also functional.
Rather than go with something artsy fartsy, I decided to adopt a name that was more descriptive of a craftsman approach. Hence the name, [i]Artisan. While Artisan can mean many things, including highly artistic trades such as painting and sculpting, it can also refer to more functional crafts such as masonry or woodworking.
My approach to developing websites is more of a solution, than it is a design. The design of the website wraps around the functionality, as opposed to adapting the functionality to the design. Does that make any sense?
Basically, I try to develop sites that are effective and practical first and foremost, while also paying close attention to detail and aesthetics. I am more of the fine cabinet maker as opposed to the abstract painter. Needless to say, that is how I identify with the iArtisan moniker.
So what’s with the i..? Well, that’s a funny story that wasn’t so funny at the time.
Initially, my intent was to be known as, “eArtisan”. However, there was some funny business that went on with my registrar, and the name ended up getting sniped by a domain reseller. I had secured the name with a live operator on a Friday, but by Monday morning when it hadn’t yet shown up in my account, I grew pretty concerned.
I distinctly remember the account representative going, “Oh wow, that’s a great name”. Six years ago, having an “e” at the beginning of your URL was all the rage. I had thought it was a terrific grab at the time, and apparently so did someone else at my registrar.
Needless to say, due to this little snafu, some “random individual” purchased it out from under me. When running a whois search, I quickly identified the person as a power domain reseller. Unfortunately, there was nothing I could do about it. Apparently, it was “pure coincidence” that another individual happened to purchase this domain only moments before I did. Mhmmm…yeah…
My customer service representative did indicate that one option I had was to offer a buyout price for the domain, and they would contact the domain owner with my proposed bid. Now tell me if that doesn’t sound shady..?!
I had some minor grievances with this hosting company prior to this incident, but this was a huge red flag. Ultimately, I escalated my complaint to level “how did you get this extension..?!” support, and ended up being awarded a $60 credit. Yippee..! I was also given a free consolation domain, which ended up being none other than, “iArtisan”.
Things tend to happen for a reason, in my opinion. I’m actually glad that I revisited the domain name choice, because Eartisan just doesn’t have the same panache. iArtisan is difficult enough for some to pronounce, let alone Ear-tisan. At least with the i in front it forces you to enunciate the syllable, whereas with an e it just ends up becoming an ear.
Alright, so back to the relevance of the ‘i’. What do you suppose it pertains to..?
Yep, that’s right…”Internet”. iArtisan stands for Internet Artisan. I am an Artisan who practices his craft in cyberspace. Makes sense now doesn’t it..?
As you may have guessed, I moved my business to a new web host shortly after that mishap. Since it was so long ago, I’ll give them the benefit of the doubt by withholding their company name from this post, and hope that they are more professional now than they were back then.
I suppose if you’re dying to know I could respond to an e-mail inquiry.